Zugzwang
by Ghostwriter Redux
Summary: With the arrival of autumn comes the arrival of Cross Academy's newest transfer student, a mysterious teen named Senna who manages to rouse Kaname's interest. However, her appearance at the Academy quickly generates an ominous domino effect and neither human nor vampire alike will be prepared to deal with the inevitable fallout. Pairing: eventual Zero/OC
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Matsuri Hino owns VK, I don't own the cover photo, make no monetary gain writing this, blah, blah, blah you guys already know that. Let's do this.

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_"Zugzwang is like getting trapped on a safety island in the middle of a highway when a thunderstorm starts. You don't want to move but you have to." - Arthur Bisguier (Müller & Pajeken 2008:173)_

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Chapter One

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_Don't go into the park after sunset._

The warning rolled around in Senna Yoshida's head several times as she waltzed passed the entrance gates to Ozunu Park. She savored the words like she would a forkful of triple chocolate meltdown.

She made a conscious effort to stay off the lit pathways, weaving her way through the shadowy patches of grass and humming some cheesy show tune she had stuck in her head from earlier that day. Senna was, all things considered, the perfect picture of an ignorant, defenseless teenage girl.

She had just passed the midway point, marked by an off-white marble fountain before she caught the movement of a shadow that wasn't hers out the corner of her eye. She didn't turn her head, tucking her hands into the pockets of her fitted blue fleece nonchalantly as she noticed the shadow freeze.

_Aw, yeah. _

_Jackpot_.

She didn't alter the rhythm of her steps, not wanting to give her tracker any signs that she was aware of him. She wanted _him_ as blissfully ignorant of what _she_ was capable of as possible. No need to give him any unnecessary advantage.

Her mind was blank, adrenaline surging deliciously through her veins in preparation of the physical confrontation that was about to commence as she silently urged him to attack her.

Moments later he lunged forward, throwing a heavy arm over her shoulders and tightening it around her neck in a sloppy chokehold. She rolled her eyes, burying a well-placed elbow into his solar plexus and dislodging him with embarrassing ease.

She spun around to face him as he staggered backwards a few paces, gasping for air. He was a little taller than the average Japanese male, no more than twenty years old if she had to guess. She felt a spark of hope at the thought, maybe he had some friends lurking about…? The newly Fallen Ones usually travelled in packs for protection but she could hear nothing else over his violent coughs.

He came at her again after catching his breath, brandishing a switchblade though she evaded him with a lazy sidestep and, utilizing the speed her bloodline gifted her with, grabbed him in an arm lock. She disarmed him with a backwards jerk of his arm, eliciting a howl of agony from her assailant a crack like a gunshot echoed around the small courtyard. Senna spun around to gain momentum and kissed his jaw with the heel of her boot.

She crouched over his sprawled half-unconscious form, knife poised over his throat before an almost dejected-sounding sigh left her lips when she got a good long look at him.

"You're not one of them, huh?" She murmured, her blade sliding back into the leather bracer on her right forearm with a quiet 'schink' as she shook her sleeve down to conceal it; "You get to live, lucky you." A sharp cuff to the back of his head finished him off as his eyes rolled back and he blacked out.

The snow-haired teen stood, flicking her bangs out of her dark gray eyes with a lazy toss of her head before walking away. She was starting at a new school in the morning, 'Cross Academy' the brochure had read and her mom would have a litter of kittens if she didn't get home before ten. Not that she particularly cared about breaking curfew, she wanted to put as much space between herself and tomorrow as she possibly could.

She couldn't help but grin wolfishly when she heard her 'would be' assailant begin to stir with a weak groan behind her. She knew he'd be fine, sore as fuck for the next few days and nursing a dislocated elbow, but fine nevertheless. He'd fabricate some story about being jumped by several two-hundred pound ninjas in the park to his drinking buddies and life would go on for him as normal.

After all, Senna thought to herself as she unconsciously quickened her pace upon feeling a shiver crawl down her spine, there were worse things he could've run into in the dark than a teenaged girl who knew twenty-five different ways to kill a person with her bare hands.

Much worse…

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A little insight into our protagonist. Hope you enjoyed. As usual, all spelling and grammar mistakes are mine *duh*.


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Thanks to those that have reviewed so far, James Birdsong and bbymojo. You guys rock my socks, seriously.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC and family and make no monetary gain writing this.

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Chapter Two

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"Wake up Senna, we're almost there." The aforementioned teen raised her head groggily from the backseat, absentmindedly wiping away the drool on her chin as she sat up.

"Already?" She asked in the middle of yawning, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes before smoothing her bangs back from her face. Senna settled back against the seat, resting her forehead against the window with a faint sigh, breath fogging the cool glass; "Why do we have to be here so early?"

"Well, if you hadn't been out late maybe you could have gotten some rest-." Senna skillfully tuned out her mom's lecture, having already gotten an earful the night before when she finally got home.

"Aren't you excited to be back? When I called Kaien to see if they were enrolling he told me that the Kiryuu's eldest boy was attending, you remember him don't you?"

Senna stared blankly at the back of her mom's head; "Refresh my memory."

"You practically grew up next door to them," her dad sighed in annoyance, his eyes meeting hers in the rearview mirror before glancing back at the road.

"Kiryuu, Kiryuu," she scrunched up her face slightly as though deep in thought; "Oh! Kiryuu! The twins, Zero and Ichiru?"

"Right!" Her mom exclaimed, sharing a smile with her husband, Takeshi.

"You mean the twins that thought it wonderfully entertaining to chase me around with various amphibians and put unsavory things down the back of my shirt just to hear me scream and cry? Those twins?"

Suzume Yoshida laughed almost nervously at Senna's blunt words; "Th-the very same I would assume."

Senna nodded once in affirmation, reclining on the backseat once more and folding her arms over her chest; "I remember them. They were obnoxious little bastards."

"Senna!" Her mother laughed, reaching back to swat her daughter admonishingly on the leg; "They were just playing."

The teen rolled her eyes; "Right, like lions just 'play' with gazelles."

"It's been nine years sweetheart. Don't you think that's a bit long to hold a grudge?"

"Tell that to the Hatfield's and McCoy's," she muttered, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand, her smartass remark earning her another smack on the knee; "Hey, child abuse is generally frowned upon you know."

"You can't tell me you aren't looking forward to seeing Kaien at least after all these years?"

"About as much as I look forward to getting a root canal," she muttered sarcastically, remembering how obnoxiously happy the man was. It was hard to believe he was such a powerful vampire hunter once upon a time. She only knew as much about him as what her parents told her, many of the written records about him were removed from the Association's archive when he turned renegade. He was a living legend spread only by word of mouth these days, impossible to forget.

'_In more ways than one_,' the teen thought to herself with a wry smile, remembering when she received a birthday present from him when she was six. It was the first anti-vampire weapon she owned, a set of wickedly curved kukri (that her parents didn't let her touch until she was nine in fact). That as well as an overstuffed plush duck she named Mr. Bubbles. It was such an odd combination from a renowned icon.

She wondered why he made the change from hardened, badass vampire hunter to chairman of a boarding school. Senna arched a brow in thought, was he even _qualified_ to be running a school?

'_Then again, dealing with angsty teenagers can be pretty similar to dealing with Level E's sometimes, bloodshed aside,' _Senna thought morbidly to herself.

"Here we are," She was drawn from her musings up when the car pulled up to the curb before an imposing set of wrought-iron gates. A ten foot high stone wall surrounded the campus and she couldn't even see the main building from the road, her view obstructed by trees.

"Ten bucks says this place used to be an asylum, twenty says there's bodies buried in the basement," she said aloud, unbuckling her seatbelt and grabbing her backpack.

Takeshi glanced over his shoulder; "You ready?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want us to come in with you?"

"I'm not a little kid mom," Senna sighed in annoyance, exiting the car and grabbing her bags from the trunk, setting them on the sidewalk. She fidgeted with the straps to her backpack, shifting her weight from one leg to the other; "But, you know, if you really _want_ to I guess you can." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, glancing away as though she were embarrassed to even suggest such a thing as a faint blush colored her cheeks.

Suzume shared a knowing smile with her husband; "Well, you know a dramatic sendoff will be in order after you get settled in and we wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your peers. Besides, you're an independent young woman. Surely you don't need your parents holding your hand?"

"O-okay," Senna feigned indifference with a casual shrug though they could tell she was nervous; "I guess I'll see you guys during winter holiday then?" Her mom rolled her eyes, stepping out of the car with her dad as they enveloped her in a hug. They didn't miss the way she clung to them tightly for a moment longer even when they had released her.

Her dad ruffled her hair playfully; "Make some friends, tell Cross we said hello, watch your back, and don't go looking for trouble."

"I don't go looking for trouble," Senna sighed, hefting her duffle bags into her hands as she nudged the gate open with her shoulder, stepping onto the grounds before glancing back at her parents; "It has a nasty habit of finding me first."

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Short chapter again *sigh*. Seemed like a good place to cut it off though. We get a little more insight into our eventual love interest. As usual, all grammar errors are mine (I speed-read this, wanted to post it before work and I probably missed something) and I hope you enjoyed.


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it and make no profit writing this.

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Chapter Three

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"_You have found her then?"_

"_M-maybe. I-I wasn't too sure-." _

"_He was too busy getting his ass handed to him by a chick half his size!" The other familiars in attendance chorused their agreement with several laughs but were silenced by a glare from their Master. Once he was certain he had their attention he turned his garnet-hued eyes back to his informant's._

"_You aren't sure?"_

_He fidgeted under that piercing gaze; "U-um I-I-I-."_

"_You-?"_

"_J-just give me another chance-." _

"_I'm not exactly a firm believer in second chances, Satoshi."_

"_Please-!" He was not above begging for his life at his Master's feet this late in the game; "I just want to be sure we have the right one. No sense in having to do it twice, right?" _

_His Master blinked lazily, head tilting to the side before a faint hum of agreement escaped him; "I suppose not."_

_A sigh of relief escaped him; "Oh thank god-."_

_A cynical smile crossed his Master's lips; "Don't thank me just yet." _

_Satoshi glanced up in confusion upon hearing a faint metallic ting, seeing his Master unsheathe the katana he wore on his left hip; "What the hell-?" _

_Famous last words? Not exactly, but they were Satoshi's as his head was separated cleanly from his shoulders not moments later, tumbling to the ground with a heavy thump. The familiars immediately recoiled, blood pouring from the ragged stump that was his neck and spreading out across the marble flooring in a macabre mural of sorts. _

"_I do not tolerate failure in any form," he said aloud, raising the katana to his lips, flicking his tongue lightly over the bloodied blade, looking at each familiar in turn; "Bring me the correct child's head, or I will remove the rest of yours." _

"_Yes Master."_

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"-over here is the library. And over there is the canteen. And the infirmary is that way-."

"Do you have a map I could use-?"

"-and the Moon Dormitory is over there but us Day Class students aren't allowed in it and vice versa. And over there is the-!" Senna skillfully tuned her hyperactive 'tour guide' out, the Day Class VP, Megumi Sato. Shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans she continued trailing behind the bouncy redhead. It had been luck (or misfortune, however you wanted to look at it) that she came across the teen when she had been wandering aimlessly around campus. She was very happy to show Senna around.

However, Megumi had yet to show her to the Chairman's office which was the entire reason why Senna had accepted the redhead's offer in the first damn place.

"-and the stables are down this pathway-."

"Stables? You have horses here?" Senna's interest had been roused. Megumi glanced over her shoulders at the younger teen with a slight smile.

"Sure do! We offer equestrian as part of our physical education curriculum in fact. You ride?"

"Nah, never had the opportunity. I've always wanted to though," she admitted.

"Aside from being part of the curriculum Abe-San also offers free lessons every Tuesday after school for two hours. The only things required of you are a love of horses and a willingness to muck out the stables after the lesson is over."

Senna quirked a brow before shrugging; "Doesn't seem like that bad of a tradeoff."

"Right?" Megumi offered her another friendly smile before they came full-circle with their tour of campus right outside the main building; "Curfew is at six pm on the dot. Don't let the prefects catch you out after then or you'll get supplementary classes."

"Supplementary classes?"

"Detention."

"Oh," Senna nodded; "Thanks for clarifying."

"Sure thing!" Megumi chirped; "Maybe we'll have some classes together! You seem like a cool chick Senna-San."

A warm blush graced Senna's cheeks at the freely-given praise; "Thanks. Same to you." Megumi lifted her hand in a goodbye wave before jogging up the stairs and heading back to class. When the redhead was out of sight Senna exhaled a loud sigh, rubbing her temples. She didn't have nearly enough caffeine in her system to deal with someone like Megumi Sato.

Senna began walking up the steps to the gothic-styled building, hoping to find someone else a bit more informative (and a lot less energetic) to help her inside.

"What's this? A new student?" She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes meeting rich emeralds belonging to a handsome blond-haired teen.

"Senna Yoshida," she introduced herself (after finally unsticking her tongue from the roof of her mouth long enough to be able to do so), extending her hand which he shook. Her eyes narrowed slightly, feeling an alarmingly familiar itch at the back of her skull when her skin made contact with his.

"Takuma Ichijo, it's a pleasure to meet you Senna-San."

"Likewise," her eyes widened a fraction when he brought her hand to his lips and brushed a light kiss over the back of her knuckles though his eyes remained locked on hers.

"You must be the transfer student Chairman Cross informed us about."

"I lived in Japan until I was seven, then my parents moved to the States for work. I came back to complete my schooling here since my mom is old friend's with Kai-er, I mean Chairman Cross," Senna replied as he released her hand before realizing he was wearing an inverted version of the uniform Megumi had been wearing; "Are you a Night Class student?"

"Yep!" He said cheerfully, adjusting a stack of folders he was carrying under his left arm; "I'm just running some errands for our Dorm President. Did the Chairman give you the day free?"

Senna laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck; "Actually, I haven't even found his office yet."

"Want me to show you the way?"

"Would you really?"

"Of course!" Senna figured she could grow to like Takuma. He was bubbly but not _too_ bubbly. His smile was absolutely infectious as well; "Come on, this way."

"Sure."

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A few minutes later and they were standing before the Chairman's office. The bronze plaque to the left of the door read; Chairman Kaien Cross. Beneath it was a piece of bright yellow paper with the words 'Come in~!' written in pink bubble letters. She arched a brow at that, glancing sideways at Takuma before knocking.

"Come in~!"

"Oh, god," she groaned, running a hand back through her hair and fixing her headband. Inhaling deeply to steady her nerves Senna entered his office and was greeted to the sight of Kaien Cross, the infamous 'Vampire without Fangs' sitting behind a desk playing with a Chinese finger trap. Her eyes rolled heavenward in exasperation as she set her bags on the ground and walked forward.

"Just a second, I've almost got it!" He announced dramatically, tugging futilely at it as Senna sighed, taking pity on him and grabbing his wrists, pushing his fingers to the middle and allowing him to slip them out; "You're a genius!"

"Hi Cross-San." He looked up at her, blinking owlishly before a bright smile of recognition graced his features; "Um, wait a secon-."

She was unable to get any more words out before he practically launched himself over his desk and enveloped her in a rib-crushing hug. Seriously, she heard something crack; "It's so wonderful to see you again Sen-Chan!"

"Likewise," she managed to rasp, squirming uselessly in his grasp which only served to tighten (ironically enough like the Chinese finger trap he had been entranced by moments before).

"I was expecting you half an hour ago," he said seriously, releasing her and resting his hands on her shoulders.

"Took the scenic route. Megumi Sato showed me around a bit."

"Ah, Megumi-San is a wonderful student and role model. She will never steer you wrong, Senna."

"That's great." Cross glanced upwards, seeing Takuma lingering at the doorway. She followed his line of sight; "Oh, thanks for showing me the way Senpai. I really appreciate it." She bowed respectfully at the waist.

"It was my pleasure Senna-San and please, just call me Takuma."

"Only if you call me Senna."

That breathtaking smile graced his lips once more; "If that's what you wish hime." A hot blush swept up the back of her neck to color her cheeks at the affectionate nickname; "See you later Senna. Goodbye Chairman."

As the door shut behind him she turned her attention back to Kaien who was beaming at her like a proud parent; "You've made a friend! I'm so proud of you!"

Senna rolled her eyes; "You sound so surprised." She dropped into the chair before his desk, filling out the remainder of the necessary paperwork.

"How are your parents doing?"

"They're still above dirt," Senna murmured indifferently, arching a brow in confusion when she came across a form that read 'Cross Academy Guardian Application'; "What's this?"

He suddenly looked like a kid who'd gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar; "Oh, just a little something I thought you might be interested in."

"I'll think about it," she set it aside, missing the crestfallen look on his face as she looked over the rest of the forms, checking that her schedule was correct.

"Do you have a uniform?" Cross inquired, seeing her nod in affirmation.

"Yeah, it's packed away with my other stuff." Senna nodded over her shoulder to where her bags laid.

"You will be rooming with Sakura Hayashi. She's very kind and rather shy. I think you two will be good friends."

"I certainly hope so. I don't want to spend the next two or three years rooming with someone I hate."

"Understandable," he agreed upon placing two keys to her dorm in her hand. Senna stuffed them into her backpack for safekeeping as he shuffled through the papers before looking up at her; "Looks like everything is in order here. I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay here at Cross Academy."

"Thank you, Chairman." The flaxen-haired man before her sniffed, wiping a tear from his eye dramatically.

"You're so polite and well-spoken Yoshida-San! It's a refreshing change of pace."

"I do like to think my parents did a good job raising me."

"That they did," he agreed with a welcoming smile; "If there is ever anything you need, you know where to find me."

"You're very kind," Senna Yoshida said, standing from her chair and bowing in respect before her dark gray eyes met his; "I have a feeling this will be a year none of us will ever forget."

Senna picked up her bags and turned on her heel, heading for the doorway before pausing; "Actually, I do have one question, Chairman."

"What's that Yoshida-San?"

Senna's lips twitched into a grim smile as she glanced over her shoulder at him; "Any particular reason why there are vampires attending this school…?"

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Hm, that is an excellent question Senna. A bit of humor, foreshadowing, and plot in this one. And it's 1700 words too, whoot! Anyways, this takes place at the beginning-ish of Vampire Knight through the school year and what a year it will be! Of course, sorry for the grammar booboos, it's two-thirty in the morning where I live and I can't be bothered to reread this twelve times like I usually do. *sigh*.


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